USA: Flint, the city that is poisoning its people

2 years ago

They are beautiful a little more each day in verbal jousting scathing in their race for the White House, former Secretary of State and Senator of Vermont agreed on one point, during their televised debate Flint . In this town one hundred kilometers from Detroit, people have consumed for months water loaded with lead. Candidates both want the head of the governor of the state of Michigan, Rick Snyder, they feel responsible for this health catastrophe.

Chronicle of a large-scale poisoning

Flint was one of the cradles of the automotive industry. Like Detroit, the city has grown considerably during the first half of the 20th century through the implementation of various car manufacturers. Then the automobile crisis hit, taking with it one after the other General Motors plants. Flint has changed its face, becoming a devastated city, cornered by unemployment, crime, and where 42% of the inhabitants live below the poverty line. The median annual wage is 24,679 dollars.

It is in this context that in April 2014, the authorities changed the water supply system for reasons of economy, drawing on the local river, acidic and polluted. Corrosive water gnawed network lead pipes. Upon arrival, the tap water was toxic, exposing some 100,000 people of Flint to lead poisoning.

They complained then the color and taste of the water. Some suffered from vomiting, hair loss, rash, but it was not until September 2015 that the contamination has been recognized by the US administration. Last January, President Barack Obama even declared an emergency.

Residents left to themselves

Despite these reactions to the summit of the state, the contaminated water lines still have not been replaced due to cost: 55 million dollars. Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross and volunteers distribute water packs to the poorest and weakest. The people themselves, feel betrayed and abandoned.

“People should be able to trust and to drink clean water, or taking a bath, or otherwise, without worrying about what their children are infected or sick. There are enough sick people to United States, “railed Kevin Larsen, a landscape of Flint unemployed.

So far, the first results show more than 40 people with excessive amounts of lead. At least 87 are infected with Legionella and ten have died.